IBM Simplifies and Enhances the IBM International Passport Advantage
Agreement

ENUS201-202.PDF (159KB)

At a Glance

Simplification and enhancement of IBM Passport Advantage offers new
benefits which include:

A streamlined way to acquire IBM software and assure technical support
coverage for all licenses with the inclusion of Software Maintenance
(Software Subscription and Technical Support) with all license
acquisitions

Stand-alone licenses, Software Subscription, and Annual Support will no
longer be offered for IBM distributed software.

A simplified renewal process with a single Software Maintenance Renewal
part number

The continued ability to access new IBM software versions and releases as
they become generally available as long as Software Maintenance is kept
current

The ability to attain a high SVP level with the introduction of
Relationship SVP level and Transaction SVP

The addition of Tivoli products in Passport Advantage

No limits on the number of Passport Advantage additional sites

Overview

IBM Passport Advantage (the way to do worldwide volume licensing of IBM
software) has just gotten better. In response to your feedback, we are
pleased to provide an enhanced, simplified IBM Passport Advantage for
software licenses and subscriptions, as well as technical support
acquisition for IBM distributed software. These improvements will begin
to take effect on September 1, 2001, and will be implemented
worldwide for software acquired through the IBM International Passport
Advantage Agreement, IBM Business Partners who remarket IBM
iSeries and pSeries, and IBM directly.

Key changes to the IBM Passport Advantage offering include:

A single Passport Advantage offering with a Relationship Suggested Volume
Price (SVP) level continuum ranging from level A to H. The Contract
Option Forecast (CO Forecast) is being withdrawn.

"Perpetual" agreement terms, removing the need to renew the Passport
Advantage agreement every two years.

All software licenses now include Software Maintenance (Software
Subscription and Technical Support).

A simplified renewal process with only one renewal part number per
product.

IBM Passport Advantage, IBM's volume acquisition offering, will continue
to provide consistent worldwide features, pricing, and multilingual
license acquisition. Whether you are a small company, a decentralized
department, or a member of the Fortune 500, IBM Passport Advantage will
make it easier to acquire software and technical support as well as
provide the ability to leverage your buying power across the entire
organization.

IBM Passport Advantage is a worldwide volume acquisition offering that
allows you to acquire IBM distributed software on a single planning and
predictable budgeting cycle. This announcement enhances and simplifies
the current Passport Advantage terms and conditions, and provides you
with new offering benefits that include:

Perpetual Agreement

The new IBM International Passport Advantage Agreement no longer requires
a customer signature or an IBM counter signature unless required by local
law or practice. Once a customer enrolls in the new Passport Advantage
offering, their first acquisition signifies the acceptance of the program
terms and conditions. This new agreement acceptance process not only
simplifies the initial enrollment into Passport Advantage, but guarantees
no interruption to the Passport Advantage relationship. Customers can
continue acquiring through the Passport Advantage offering until it is
terminated by either party. If you decide to terminate Passport
Advantage, you can do so by providing IBM with 30 days written notice.
IBM will provide a 90-day written notice prior to changing any Passport
Advantage terms and conditions, or withdrawing the IBM International
Passport Advantage Agreement.

Withdrawal of CO Forecast

CO Forecast, announced in Software Announcement
299-244
, dated September 9, 1999, has been withdrawn.

Software Maintenance

Software Maintenance (previously available separately as Software
Subscription and Technical Support) is the most effective way for you to
ensure that your users have the latest technology at their fingertips and
maintain the highest levels of productivity. With Software Maintenance,
your IS technical staff has continual access to our software technical
support centers as needed.

Software Maintenance is the most effective strategy for staying up to
date and assuring technical support coverage is available whenever you
need it. Software Maintenance provides you with access to new versions
and releases for covered products, and allows for cross-platform
migration at no extra cost during their coverage period. In addition to
software upgrades, an integral part of Software Maintenance is technical
support designed to meet the support requirements of a customer running
multiple IBM products in a complex environment. The support is not
intended as an end-user support offering, but is designed to supplement
your support staff by providing telephone and electronic cross-platform
support for routine, short duration installation, as well as usage
(how-to) questions, and code-related problems. Software Maintenance is
automatically included with all licenses until the first or second
anniversary date of your Passport Advantage contract, dependant on the
anniversary coverage you selected with your initial acquisition.

With Software Maintenance, you receive the following technical support
benefits:

Support for routine, short duration installation and usage (how-to)
questions, and code-related problems for product licenses covered by
Software Maintenance.

Support during normal country business hours, namely prime shift hours
excluding national or statutory holidays.

Support for mission-critical (Severity 1) problems during non-prime shift
hours, namely all hours outside normal country business hours including
national and/or statutory holidays.

Two-hour response time objective during prime shift for voice and
electronic problem submissions. The response objective for
critical/emergency problems during offshift is also two hours.

Access to hints, tips, and frequently asked questions.

Ability to transfer calls/issues to IBM Support Centers.

Access to escalation management 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Ability to authorize any number of knowledgeable IS technical staff who
can submit problems to an IBM Support Center on your behalf. Each caller
must be registered through our new and improved problem submission Web
site in order to submit problems. The authorized caller list is managed
by you.

eCare for Software  An initiative designed to enhance your electronic
support experience by providing a single view of IBM distributed software
that includes easy, integrated access to the following information and
functions:

Marketing

Technical

Developer

Business Partner

IBM Services

Download

ibm.com

Comprehensive electronic SelfHelp capabilities.

Advanced search capabilities.

A single interface into problem submission/management system for IBM
distributed software.

Terms and Conditions

IBM Responsibilities:
IBM will provide telephone support (and electronic access in
countries where available) to product specialists who will:

Be available to provide support during the authorized caller's period of
coverage. IBM's objective is to respond to callers within a maximum of
two business hours after receiving their calls during normal business
hours.

Answer specific, task-oriented problems or questions pertaining to the
use and operation of currently supported products. Refer the caller to
specific IBM, Lotus®, or Tivoli product documentation or publications
for additional information and instructions.

Customer Responsibilities

An authorized technical caller must be available to work with IBM staff
during the entire time IBM is providing support outside of normal country
business hours.

Each customer site should identify a Site Technical Contact at the time
of the first acquisition.

You agree that each authorized caller is a technically trained person, a
member of your IS technical staff, with knowledge on the product they are
calling in on and is not an end user.

An authorized caller may call on any IBM supported products across their
assigned site as long as they are technically skilled on that product.

Other Terms and Conditions

Software Maintenance does not extend the announced end of service date
(as noted in the announcement letter) of any eligible product.

Software Maintenance is not intended as a help desk for end users.

Acquisitions

IBM's Passport Advantage now makes it easier to acquire IBM software
across a broad range of IBM products by providing a single common
structure for acquiring IBM distributed software programs which include,
but are not limited to, DB2®, WebSphere, Lotus, and Tivoli products.
An organization can still order a single license including Software
Maintenance or many, for one location, or a network of offices around the
world. You can now take advantage of a single planning and predictable
budgeting cycle for all IBM distributed software needs.

Single Relationship Suggested Volume Price (SVP) Level

After an originating site enrolls in the Passport Advantage program, an
agreement effective date is established based on the date IBM accepts the
initial order. Once an agreement effective date is established, the
anniversary date is set and a Relationship SVP is established based on
the point value of your initial order using the table below:

At each anniversary date, your Relationship SVP Level will be
recalculated based on the point value of your acquisitions made in the
prior term, using the table above. (Refer to the
Relationship SVP Terms
section.) If, during the current Term, additional acquisitions are made,
you may qualify to have your current Relationship SVP adjusted to a
higher level.

Relationship SVP Terms

Your Relationship SVP Level applies up to the next anniversary date,
but may be amended due to additional acquisitions (that is, from
effective date of contract to the first anniversary).

The total (net) point value of the valid orders received by IBM at the
time the contract goes into effect (that is, the date IBM accepts the
initial order) determines the initial Relationship SVP Level for
this period.

For Each Subsequent Term

The total (net) point value of the acquisitions made during the prior
Term will be calculated and confirmed during the calendar month
immediately following the anniversary date most recently pasted. This
value, called "Carry-Over Points," will determine the initial
Relationship SVP Level for this subsequent Term, which will be
designated as the "current Term." However, regardless of the number of
Carry-Over Points, the initial Relationship SVP Level will not be
reduced by more than two levels from that Relationship SVP
Level which was last in effect during the prior Term.

Transaction SVP Level

Customers with a Relationship SVP Level of D or above may also
qualify for a Transaction SVP Level. The Transaction SVP is an
additional discount which is applied to any qualifying order using the
table below:

Contact your IBM Business Partner, reseller, or IBM representative, as
applicable, for pricing.

Note:
Transaction SVP Level does not apply to government or academic
customers.

Examples

New Customer X: Initial order for 500 points, Relationship SVP is set to
D (BAU); process the transaction at F (refer to the table above, note
that F = D+2).

New Customer Y: Initial order for 1,000 points, Relationship SVP is set
to E (BAU); process the transaction at G (refer to the table above, note
that G = E+2).

Customer X places an additional order: Their Relationship SVP
Level is D, they place a 1,000 points additional order; transaction
is processed at G (refer to the table above, note that G = E+2). Order
achieves the same SVP Level as would an initial order of the same
size (refer to Customer Y example).

Orders at Relationship SVP Levels G and H that qualify for a Transaction
SVP Level will be confirmed by IBM and processed at the applicable I
or J prices without the requirement for any additional internal (for
example, special bid) authorization.

Transition Plans

To complement this announcement, all CO, CEO, VPO, Government, and
Academic Volume Purchase Option customers of record will receive a direct
mailing which will include:

An outline of the changes to the Passport Advantage

The IBM International Passport Advantage Agreement

A Passport Advantage Enrollment Form

An overview of the transition of your current agreement to the new IBM
International Passport Advantage Agreement

The effective date when you will be transitioned to the new Passport
Advantage terms and conditions

At time of contract transition, your new Relationship SVP will remain at
the same level established under the current program. This Relationship
SVP Level will stay in effect until your next anniversary date or until a
follow-on transaction qualifies you for a better Relationship SVP. At
your next anniversary, your Relationship SVP Level will be recalculated,
based on the (net) point value of your acquisitions made during the prior
Term. Whatever the result, your Relationship SVP Level will not be
reduced by more than two levels from that which was in effect prior to
the recalculation.

Note:
Government Option, and Academic Option customer's new Relationship SVP
will remain at the same level as under the current applicable program.
This Relationship SVP Level will stay in effect as long as you maintain
your Passport Advantage relationship through the applicable Passport
Advantage offering previously mentioned.

Technical Support Transition

Customers who currently acquire annual support through Passport Advantage
will receive the new Software Maintenance technical support features on
September 1, 2001.

Customers who acquired technical support outside of Passport Advantage or
Lotus Incident Based Packs will transition to the new Software
Maintenance technical support features at the time of:

Passport Advantage renewal date

License with Software Maintenance acquisition

Support contract end date when it occurs prior to Passport Advantage
renewal date

iSeries and pSeries are trademarks of International Business Machines
Corporation.

WebSphere, DFS, TXSeries, Everyplace, VideoCharger, KnowledgeX, QMF,
Intelligent Miner, DB2 OLAP Server, StorWatch, and the e-business logo
are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation in the
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are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation
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Tivoli is a registered trademark of International Business Machines
Corporation or Tivoli Systems Inc. in the United States or other
countries or both.

Domino, Notes, and LearningSpace are trademarks of Lotus Development
Corporation.